Annual Regatta

In July 1877, 15 young men founded the Lurline Boat Club in Minneapolis. Wishing to improve their physical condition as well as their social status, they purchased a four-oared boat from the St. Paul Boat Club and began rowing on Bde Maka Ska (then known as Lake Calhoun). The club started holding regattas, which drew many spectators. The July 4th regattas in 1879 and 1881 were said to have five thousand spectators lining Bde Maka Ska’s shores.
The Minneapolis Rowing Club was formally incorporated in 1938. World War II and city expansion forced the closing of their Bde Maka Ska rowing facility. Between 1958 and 1965 members of MRC were landlocked. They may not have rowed, but they planned and constructed the boathouse which occupies the current location on the west bank of the Mississippi River just north of the Lake Street Bridge. The club currently has more than 300 members, including teams for men, women and high-school students. MRC continues to grow with programs for everyone including people just learning to row, social rowers and competitive rowers looking to compete both nationally and internationally.